Calutron receiver structure



Sept. 8, 1959 2,903,587

J. L. ROUSH CALUTRON RECEIVER STRUCTURE Filed March 31, 1947 2 Sheets-$heet 1 351w Acyils fable IN V EN TOR.

Jam 96 L Roush J.L.ROUSH CALUTRON RECEIVER STRUCTURE Sept. 8, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 31, 1947 HVVENTDR.

United States Patent CALUTRON RECEIVER STRUCTURE James Leigh Roush, West Asheville, N.C., assignor to the United States of America as represented by the United States Atomic Energy Commission Application March 31, 1947, Serial No. 738,387

8 Claims. (Cl. 250-413) My invention relates to electromagnetic isotope separating equipment and more particularly to foot scraper blades employed in calutron receivers for the collection of the isotopes of elements.

The large scale separation of isotopes by means of the electro-magnetic separating apparatus known in the art as the calutron is accomplished by forming a gaseous or vaporizable compound of the element to be separated, ionizing the gas or vapor, subjecting the ions to an accelerating potential and to a magnetic field which causes them to separate into beams and travel in arcuate paths of radii corresponding to their masses, and then collecting the isotopes in receivers located at or near the focal points of the ion beams. These receivers are ordinarily charged to an appropriate potential to retain the ions and generally incorporate a structure comprising a series of metal plates very much after the fashion of a honeycomb, known in the calutron art as a footscraper. After a suitable amount of material has collected upon these plates, they are removed and cleaned. Due to their particular construction it is a very difficult and time-consuming operation to remove and clean these plates, and in prior structures it has been impossible to replace a single plate without replacing a whole unit.

Applicant with a knowledge of all of these defects in and objections to the prior art has for an object of his invention the provision of a foot scraper, the blades of which may be individually removed for cleaning or repairing, or the blades may be entirely replaced without replacing the whole unit.

Applicant has as another object of his invention the provision of a foot scraper blade adapted to be associated with a series of other like blades and which will itself serve as a spacer to space the other blades away from it.

Applicant has as a further object of his invention the provision of a foot scraper arrangement having individually removable blades assembled in a unit with flexible means which may be quickly and easily inserted in place or removed therefrom for cleaning.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will appear from the following specification and accompanying drawings, and the novel features thereof will be particularly pointed out in the annexed claims.

In the drawings, Fig. l is a plan view of the blank of stainless steel, copper or other suitable material from which my improved foot scraper blade is formed. Fig. 2 is a perspective of my improved foot scraper blade. Fig. 3 is a perspective of a receiver box, partly in section, and a series of foot scraper blades disposed therein.

Fig. 4 is a schematic of a conventional calutron with a receiver having my improved foot scraper blades incorporated therein.

One form of calutron, disclosed in Fig. 4 of the drawings, comprises the combination of an evacuated closed vessel 21 having a magnetic field passing therethrough in the plane of the paper, provided by a magnet, one pole of which is indicated at 24. The magnet is of such strength as to constrain uniform velocity ions projected within the vessel to arcs whose radii are a predetermined fixed function of the momentum of the ions. By such means it is known that ions having a common origin and traveling diflerent paths of equal curvature will, due to geometrical focusing action, substantially pass through a common region after of travel.

In order for this apparatus to have practical utility as a means for making isotopes available in quantity, it is necessary to provide receivers 22 and 23, known in the calutron art as Q and R pockets, respectively, to collect separately the ions differing in mass, that is, the different isotopes, so that they may be recovered to provide materials having greater proportions of the desired isotopes than occur in nature.

Within the vessel 21, which is preferably highly evacuated, there is provided a source 25 which furnishes the ions of the desired materials, having the isotopes to be separated, as referred to above. The accelerating electrode 26 above the source is made negative with respect to the ion source and serves to project the ions into the space within the vessel 21 so that they travel at high speed in their arcuate paths towards the receivers 22, 23.

The arrangement of Fig. 4 constitutes no part of applicants invention, and is only shown in diagrammatic form to illustrate generally a system in which applicants invention may be used. The various supporting structures and auxiliary equipment may take any suitable form known to those skilled in the art, and have been omitted therein for purposes of clarity.

Referring now to Figs. l-3, inclusive, of the drawings, 4 designates the body of a foot scraper blade made from a single blank A of flat sheet material, such as stainless steel or the like. The blank is bent to form a body portion 4 and flanges 1, 2. Lower and upper apertures or openings 7, 8 are formed in the body portion 4 adjacent to flange 1, and an aperture 9 is formed in the front part of the body 4 adjacent flange 2. The web or body portion 4 has an angular front edge 5 and a flat top edge 17. The back or rear flange 1 has a turned up corner 6 adjacent the upper end thereof to assist in spacing the blade away from adjacent blades. The rear end of flange 2 is turned upwardly to form an ear 3 which serves both as a spacer to prevent nesting of the blades 4, and as a shield to protect the flexible wire or rod 16, passing through the blades, from the deteriorating effects of the ions which enter the chamber or box, become neutralized and deposit material thereon. The blades are placed in what is commonly known as an E box 10 and used in some installations as R pockets and in others as Q pockets, so that the openings 7, 8 and 9 therein are in alignment with each other, and are also in alignment with openings 18, 1%, and 2% in each end of box 10. Thereafter flexible wires or rods are inserted through the aligned openings in the blades and the ends of the boxes, and nuts are screwed onto the threaded ends of the rods so that the blades are held in place in the box. When set in this position, the flanges 1 and 2 act, along with the curled edges 6 and the ears 3, as spacers to space the blades apart. The bottom flanges, and to some extent, the rear flanges also serve as supports. They further act to present a large surface area which the ions may strike and to which they may adhere. Since these ions travel at relatively high speeds, they would have a tendency to bounce out of an open box, but this series of blades, maintained at a negative potential, tend to retain the ions in the box it) and to neutralize them therein so that the metal may be deposited on the surface of the blades.

When the operations of separating the isotopes and deposition of the metal on the plates have been completed, or where it is desired to remove the blades for cleaning, repair and replacement, the nuts 11, 12, and 13 are re moved from the ends of the wires or rods 14, 15, and

16 and the rods are pulled out through the openings in the blades and the opposite ends of the box 10, thus freeing the blades from their position in the box and from each other; The blades are merely pulled out through the open front of the box and may be quickly and easily acted upon individually to remove the deposited material from their surfaces by brushing, scraping, or treating with appropriate chemicals. The plates may then be reinserted in the box by stacking them therein with the angular or slanting face of each plate positioned at the front of the box. When the openings 7, 8, and 9 are again in alignment, the wires or rods 14, 15, and 16 may again be passed through the openings in the blades and ends of the box 10. When this assembly step is completed, the nuts 11, 12, and 13 may again be screwed onto the ends of the rods to retain them in place.

As an alternative arrangement, the rod 15, for example, may be made shorter than the rods 14 and 16 so that it is only sufiiciently long to bridge the various foot scraper blades. With the nuts screwed onto the ends of the shortened rod 15, it will serve to secure the foot scraper blades together to form a unit and facilitate the removal of those blades from the box 10. After that, the shortened rod may be removed from the various openings and the blades separated. The same procedure may be followed with either of the other two rods instead of rod 15, it was only selected herein for the purpose of illustration.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A foot scraper assembly for the collection of ions of substances comprising a receiver, said receiver having an open front, foot scraper blades disposed within the receiver, said foot scraper blades being individually removable through said open front, means carried by said foot scraper blades for spacing them apart, and flexible means for maintaining said blades in assembled relation.

2. A foot scraper assembly for the collection of isotopes and substances comprising a receiver, foot scraper blades disposed Within said receiver, flanges on said foot scraper blades for spacing them apart, and means for maintaining them in assembled relation.

3. A foot scraper assembly for the collection of ions of substances comprising a receiver, foot scraper blades disposed within said receiver, flanges projecting from the bottom and rear edges for supporting said blades in spaced relation and to provide walls for the collection of materials, and flexible means for maintaining said blades in assembled relation.

4. A foot scraper assembly for the collection of ions of substances comprising a receiver, foot scraper blades disposed within said receiver, flanges projecting from edges of said blades to support them and to provide surfaces for the collection of material, said flanges having portions struck outwardly therefrom for spacing said blades from each other, and means for maintaining said blades in assembled relation.

5. A foot scraper assembly for the collection of ions of substances comprising a receiver, said receiver having an open front, foot scraper blades having a substantially trapezoidal body portion, said blades being removable through said open front, means for spacing said blades apart, and flexible means threading the blades for securing them together in assembled relation.

6. A foot scraper assembly for the collection of ions of substances comprising a receiver, said receiver having an open front, foot scraper blades having slanting front edges disposed Within the receiver and removable individually therefrom through said open front, flanges carried by the edges of said blades for Supporting them and for spacing them apart, and flexible means for maintaining said blades in assembled relation.

7. A foot scraper assembly for the collection of ions of substances comprising a receiver having an open front, a series of foot scraper blades having substantially flat body portions disposed therein, flanges extending along the bottom and rear edges of said blades for supporting the blades, aligned openings in the blades and casing, and rods threading said openings for maintaining the blades in assembled relation.

8. A foot scraper assembly for the collection of ions of substances comprising a receiver, said receiver having an open front, foot scraper blades having slanting front edges disposed in said receiver, said blades being removable through said open front, flanges carried by the lower and rear edges of said blades for supporting them and for collecting material, extensions struck from said flanges for spacing said blades, aligned openings in the blades and said casing, and flexible rods threading said blades and said casing for maintaining the elements in assembled relation.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 478,845 Cahn July 12, 1892 1,454,579 Fitzpatrick May 8, 1923 1,775,041 Kamarzin Sept. 2, 1930 1,992,646 Young Feb. 26, 1935 

